


What’s Left Behind (just the stories we tell)

by LazlosLulls



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Black Paladin Shiro (Voltron), Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Memes, No Season 3, Picnics, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Star Wars References, Tribute To Carrie Fisher, allura deserves love and support, allura has a crisis and shiro helps, canon has been slow roasted and carved for the juicy bits, guess what owl city song this was based off of, hidden alteans, mythology gag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 15:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19428391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazlosLulls/pseuds/LazlosLulls
Summary: On a dark arm of a distant galaxy, the Paladins thought they found hidden Alteans. Their reaction to Allura is different than she hoped. Shiro helps her realize who she is, beyond being a Princess.When you leave, all that’s left are stories.





	What’s Left Behind (just the stories we tell)

It was the perfect hiding place. A moon, hidden in a darkened arm of a desolate galaxy. There were no suns around to warm it, and the stars were sparse in the sky. It was terribly cold, enough to warrant the Paladins to use their deep space helmets.

The Alteans had fled here, millennia ago, into a safe haven. That was what the messages had said. Or rather, it was the closest translation. They had the sentence structure and the loanwords close enough that Coran took notice. They promised sanctuary from the Galra, even if they weren’t Altean, and any ally was a good ally.

Rising out of the dark sea was a bright ship, round with arms like a starfish, stretching in all directions. One tunnel laid itself on the shore, glowing white against the dark sand. Allura was through the gate first, followed by Coran and Shiro. It was just as they pictured. A group of Alteans, standing guard. Older, with dark, wrinkled skin and vividly colored hair and markings.

The leader introduced herself as President Fala. She explained the rules; no weapons inside, though you may keep your armor. In order to keep safe, everyone had to give their name, rank, and reason for visiting.

The Paladins and Coran were granted entry.

Princess Allura was not.

"I don't understand. I am an Altean, the same as Coran. I come in peace, the same as my Paladins. Why am I not allowed?" Her voice was tight.

"You have lied. You are no longer a Princess. You abandoned your people, long ago. Coran had no choice but to follow. The Paladins fight for the good of the universe, but their entry does not guarantee yours. I will not have you in this place." Fala declared.

She flinched. A chill came over the room. Coran reached over to Allura, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I understand." Her voice was too flat and even to be real. “I will go back to the ship, and wait for the Paladins to return.”

"I'll go back with you." The words were out of Shiro's mouth before he could stop them. She doesn't deserve to be alone.

"Shiro-" Keith started.

"No," he shrugged, walking over to the exit. There were other reasons, his mind supplied. Coran was needed as the diplomat. The Altean’s shade of skin reminded him too much of Adam. And her laugh lines matched Ojii-san enough to make him long for a home he couldn't return to. "I'm very sure this counts as a weapon anyway." He raised his prosthetic and it started to glow.

President Fala took notice, eyes widening. "Quintessence! Fascinating trick...but he's right."

Shiro made everyone promise to be on their best behavior while he was collecting their bayards. They all hooked to his and Allura’s belts easily. He reached out to touch Allura’s arm, but he hesitated, instead saying, “C’mon.” gently.

She kept herself ahead of him, head held high. Exiting the tunnel with the poise and grace she cultivated herself over a lifetime of duty. Shiro found himself staring at her jetpack, colored bright pink. She wore that color for mourning her people, he remembered. Not for the first time, he knows he can’t imagine how she’s feeling.

They were soon out of the ship. Shiro had to blink to adjust his eyes. The tunnel was brightly lit, extending from the dark ocean to rest on a beach. The fading artificial light clung to the sand, revealing it to be bottle glass green, not that it mattered in the night. He stepped out, pausing to look back, but no guards had escorted them out. Shiro kept moving forward, scanning the view from the impossibly dark shore. There was the Castle of Lions, a glowing beacon, settled, as he knew, a mile from the sand.

Allura was staring at it as well.

It was killing him to look at her. He felt like with a single noise from him, she would shatter. If he reached out with his prosthetic, it would burn or break her into something unrecognizable.

A hitched breath came through the radio before it suddenly went silent. Probably a one-time error, he can fix it in the Castle. Coran has been teaching him about Altean technology after all. Allura’s shoulders shook, and he could see her hands curl up to hug herself. It was most likely the cold, they should start walking to generate some heat.

The light from behind him was fading. He found the will to move, turning back to see the glowing base was slipping underneath the waves, like a moonset. Allura wasn’t changing her stance, not reacting to the light disappearing.

He felt a tightening in his chest, a bad one that promised to stick around for hours and threaten to spiral into a full panic attack. It was the dark. Probably. They just needed to get to the ship safely and find a room to wait this out. It was going to be okay.

“Allura, we need to get going.” It was still silent. He strode forward and before he knew it his arms were coming around her into a hug. Maybe if he held on for her, she wouldn’t fall apart.

There was a soft click of the radio being turned on. Her soft voice was unsteady, "Shiro..." She relaxed into it, her arms wrapped around his torso. Her helmet rested on his shoulder. Allura was warm in his arms, yet so strong.

"I'm so sorry they did that to you." He pulled back to look at her face. The internal lights in the helmet was low, but enough to see shining tracks down her face. His thumb automatically reached to brush them away, but it was stopped by the helmet glass. Shiro felt his face heat up in embarrassment before pulling away.

Realizing what he tried to do, Allura started talking, ignoring her own blush. "We should get back to the ship." She trailed her fingers down his arm so she could hold his human hand. The warmth it gave him was more powerful than it had any right to be.

Shiro felt a shiver coming from the inside out. Instinctually, his metal hand lit up and he moved it closer to the ground to light the way. The glow was a soft purple, coming from the inner workings of his prosthetic. He knew that it was rooted in science; that it moved and worked in specific, calculable movements, but sometimes it was a magical, otherworldly part of him.

They started to walk, moving at a brisk pace. Allura had transformed a bayard into a flashlight. He coughed, not wanting to look her in the eye, instead casting his eyes to the ground. The sand glittered, like they were walking among the stars. The Castle of Lions loomed ahead, shining like a Christmas ornament.

“They requested the lights to be turned off.” Allura said after some time.

“Are there any rooms facing the shore? Maybe we can put some lights on and watch for them to return.”

“Hmm.” She raised a hand, tracing the sides of the Castle with her finger. “I know just the one! It’ll be chilly there as well until the heat is circulated.”

“I think Pidge left some blankets in the break room.” He remembered. “Do you want something to eat? We did think that it might take until morning until they come back.” Shiro knows they just had something small before they left. It was precaution, when visiting, you didn’t know how long negotiations would take, or if the other party would provide food.

“That depends, are you cooking?” Allura’s tone was light.

“What? No!” he laughed a little, despite himself. Hold off an invading enemy, he’s good. Give a pep talk with the universe’s most mismatched team, he can swing that. Pilot a majestic lion ship expertly through a battlefield, he’s fantastic at it. Cook anything with more than three steps without mangling it beyond repair? That was impossible. “I was just going to heat up Hunk’s leftover stew.”

“Then I’ll take a bowl.”

The Castle’s massive doors opened shortly after that. They split apart, Allura going to the Control Bridge and Shiro visiting the kitchen. The lights on the outside of the Castle faded, tower by tower, until it was shrouded in darkness. She directed Shiro to meet her by the elevator.

He was able to find thermoses for the stew, sporks and napkins, and even throw in some of the fresh fruit they were growing in the Castle. They were structurally like oranges, easily peeled and segmented, but with near-translucent green skin. The fruit inside was bright blue, and tasted like mangos. He packed some water pouches as well, hesitating while looking at the bottle of Nunvil.

That would be a touch romantic, Shiro thought. This was just a dinner to pass the time while the other Paladins get back. She just got hurt, he needs to distract and encourage, not woo her. He’s not what she needs right now.

Shiro piled the food into a square carrying case, then found the blankets and folded them neatly on top. Allura was waiting for him at the elevator. She blinked in surprise, and he beamed back at her. “Well, I was thinking we could have a picnic.”

Allura smiled and typed the room coordinates in. He felt them traveling left for a little while, then rising upward. The hallway they entered was large, with one side stretching to the main part of the level. Several massive double doors were lined up in a row. Allura strode past them all, going to the final one. It glided open without a sound.

It was a large, open space. The ceiling was high, enough to almost strain his neck. Everything was in a pale blue the Alteans favored so much. While they stepped in, swirls of light spread out from beneath Allura’s feet, all the way to the top. “The display programming is just initializing.” She casually pulled up a screen on her bracelets. “I’ve already put the lights on this particular tower. Now we just need to be able to see outside.” The swirls reappeared, going up into the ceiling and circling to create soft golden lights in neat rows.

It was a ballroom, Shiro realized, as he set the picnic down. He walked toward the large window in the back. It was as tall as the room was, stretching from floor to ceiling. The moon below them was still dark, but he could see the faint line of the shore. “We’d be able to see when they resurface for sure.”

Allura followed him. “Those are just live recordings of the outside, it’s too dangerous during space travel to have a window.” It clicked out of existence, and Shiro shook his head, bewildered at the blank blue wall. Allura rested her arm on his shoulder. “But, because we’re not traveling, we can remove the deep space shielding.” A rumbling came through the air. The wall split open, revealing a clear view of the sea, exactly what they saw before.

“This is amazing, Allura.” They laid a blanket down onto the chilly floor, then settled with their food, eating in a comfortable silence. Shiro pretended he didn’t notice that they were an arm’s length apart, blankets over them like cloaks. It was a companionable silence, broken by quiet questions and planning of their next routes. 

The fruit wasn't entirely a good choice, it was a bit overripe. Shiro accidentally squished it while trying to peel the skin. The resulting spatter caused Allura to giggle, and he had to smile when she did that. After the food was cleared, they settled closer together.

Shiro couldn't help but look back at the massive room behind them. "I can't believe this is here. What was this used for?" he wondered out loud.

She kept her eyes ahead. "Gathering dust.” Allura said dismissively. “There's a perfectly good ballroom on the lower levels, just without the view. This room is redundant, far too lavish for our current mission, and aside from the window, it’s otherwise unremarkable.” Shiro felt his spirits waver with each reason. “It probably won't see much use after this." Her tone softened, trailing off, "I could have just as easily connected the cameras to the bridge, but..."

He looked at her again, seeing that he knees were drawn up to her chest. She wasn’t going to continue. He felt the darkness creep in, and knows he has to follow this through. Very softly, he asked, "What made you come here, then?"

She sighed. "I'm just being sentimental. I chose this room, a very long time ago.” Allura spread out, raising her hand upward. Swirls of light followed it, disappearing into the walls as quickly as they came. “When I would become Queen, I'd hold a party here, and look out there, to Altea." Allura looked again to the window. Shiro tried to imagine what she saw. Maybe a sprawling city, filled with people and things he could only dream of. Or rolling green hills with thousands of Juniberry flowers. But all that remained was darkness, with the Alteans hidden away. "Now that I can't become Queen, this is my way of saying goodbye."

He reached out and touched her shoulder. It was out of respect at first, then later habit, Shiro called her, "Princess-" it was a mistake.

"Don't call me that!” she jerked away, “You heard President Fala. I abandoned my own, Shiro.” Her voice grew quiet, her shoulders dropping.

He tried to reason, at first. "It's not your fault you were frozen.” He started to turn toward her, mirroring her kneeling position.

“There’s no need for a Princess, it’s an empty title, now. After Zarkon is vanquished, once I avenge my planet, then what? How do I serve a people who don't-" she cut off again. "I've failed them." The words ring in the empty air.

Shiro wanted to scream, wanted to shock her out of it. But he spoke instead, in a steady voice. "Ever since you’ve woken up, you’ve been doing your best. Why can’t you see that?” he tried again, grasping her hands. The blankets slipped off, pooling behind them.

Allura’s eyes were on him, bright and sharp like broken glass. She started to nod.

“Who says you have to be a Princess to help?” Shiro smiled, pointing at his chest, trying to joke, “I'm not a Princess, and I’m doing just fine."

"You're a Paladin." She bit back.

“Well, _you're_ a diplomat, you're a pilot, an alchemist, a fighter, a leader.” he started to poke at her chest. “If something happened to _anyone_ on this team I don’t doubt the Lions would let you in in a heartbeat.” He poured every bit of tenderness and support into his tone, speaking only the truth.

“This hasn’t happened before! In the millennia of Altean history, the Royal Line has never given up the crown. To their successors, surely! But to just choose a new profession? It’s never been done!”

“Your father became a Paladin.” Shiro pointed out.

“It was different, Melenor was of lineage, Alfor had married into it.” Allura refuted. “I can’t just let my duties go.”

“You can still do what you need to, though. A title isn’t going to stop you. You can still pilot the Castleship. You can still talk circles around the Olkari. You can still fight for the good of the universe, without being a Princess.” He sighed. “Remember that Star Wars story Lance and Pidge were trying to tell? Back when we found those lightsabers?”

Her voice was unamused. “Photon cutters.”

“Lightsabers.” He corrected firmly. “You know, they revisited that story. Once the Rebellion ended, the heroes went their ways; Princess Leia removed her title, and she became a General.”

“General?” Allura tilted her head. Maybe the word didn’t translate.

“Military leader. Her world was destroyed, and once she and the Rebellion took down the figureheads of the Empire that made it possible, she kept fighting in the army to fully destroy the evil remnants that were left. After all was said and done, she honored her people, but she changed to suit the future.”

There was a silence, as the words sunk in. Of course it was a little blatant, but he wasn’t able to be subtle with this. For a terrifying second, he wonders if he insulted her way of coping with the loss of her people.

But she tilts her head, finally asking. “Wasn’t she the one who choked the slug holding her prisoner with her own chains?”

“Yep.” His head bobs up and down frantically. She started to smile again, wrapping herself in her blanket. “We should really just pop back to Earth to pick up a bunch of movies. I think you’d love them.”

“Your heroes are terrifying.”

“I think violence is just what sticks out more, to be honest.” Shiro pulled his blanket back up to his shoulders.

Allura rose up and hugged him, “Thank you, Shiro.” Her head rested on his shoulder.

“Anytime, Allura.” He looked outside, trying not to look at her face, otherwise she may see his blush. Something had changed. The little bit of tension he held onto dissipated. Not quite enough time together, because something else was happening.

The ship was starting to surface, the sea now glowing silver in the night. “Wait…something’s happening.”

Allura checked her bracelets. “They’re back early.” She stood up.

Shiro agreed, nodding. “We’ll clean this up later. Let’s meet them downstairs.” They both turned away from the window, not seeing the lone figure running for the Castle.

Soon, they made it downstairs. The doors just barely opened, and a shaking form dashed inside.

It was Hunk, who looked terrified. Shiro was about to ask, but the Yellow Paladin pulled his helmet off, and uttered two words. "Moon’s haunted."

" _What_?” Both Shiro and Allura said.

Hunk ran further in, taking his bayard from the storage locker. “Moon’s _haunted_ , people! We have to rescue them!" He pulled out the rest of the bayards, tossing the blue and green ones to Allura.

“Okay, fill us in on the way.” Allura said, putting her helmet on.

“Do you know how to use one of these?” Shiro asked, picking up the red bayard and turning it into a shield.

The blue bayard in her hand split open, revealing a long, bright whip. Allura smiled, “Do you?”

“No time for flirting! Nothing good is going on down there!” Hunk ran back out of the door.

Shiro looked at Allura, and she grinned at him, sparkle back in her eyes. “Let’s go!” she yelled.

They ran out together, into the darkness.

-

After the fight, after that horrid starfish ship had fully upended and sunk into the deep, it was time for the Paladins to tell their stories.

Their hosts were nice, at first. They were adamant that none of their people would leave the ship. They promised a safe meeting space for diplomats, for anyone who needed rest.

But Coran had sworn he saw his wife and son in the crowd. And Lance was lured away with a gaggle of other Alteans in mixed colors, like his family back on Earth. Then neither of them looked too good after that, like they had their energy taken. Like they were completely out of it.

Keith and Pidge were trying to find a way out after realizing something had happened. It seemed as if Matt had found refuge there and Pidge had followed him. Keith apparently had a mother he didn’t fully recall, which was enough to get him to stay.

The Alteans had tried to lure Hunk with his mothers, but it went too far when they morphed into Shay. She was a Balmeran. She could never leave the Balmera. That piece of logic was an anchor to help him fight his way out.

After retrieving Shiro and Allura, the story came together. Allura was able to access the internal systems. This was a hotel, once. Where elite Alteans went to hide from it all. It was converted into a secret hideout for the remaining Alteans. The programming went sour after a few centuries. A stray bit of coding – programming for bringing their dead back to life, if only as holograms, had corrupted the entire resort. Whatever Alteans that were here had abandoned this place when it became dangerous.

“So, there could still be Alteans out there?” A thread of hope lingered in Allura’s voice.

“Their culture would have changed, they would have had to adapt.” Lance said.

Shiro reminded them, “Otherwise the Galra would have found out.”

Pidge pulled up her tablet, showing everyone some planets. “I took most of the files I could from the ship, there’s some other hideouts we could look into.”

“We could find the remaining Alteans, but they won’t be the same as before.” Hunk assumed.

“ _If_ we find them,” Keith insisted, “the Galra would attack without question. Right now the Coalition isn’t strong enough to defend them on their own.” Keith folded his arms together.

“What do you think, Princess?” Coran asked.

Allura nodded, taking a moment to decide. “We still have a job to do. We’ll dismantle the Empire, and if we find the Alteans along we way, we’ll do our best to help discreetly until they can be brought into the spotlight.” The Paladins had all chimed in their agreements. Shiro took his spot nearby on the Control Bridge, a nearby support.

For the first time in a long time, Allura looked at the stars with hope her people would be out there.

She would make the universe ready for them all.

-

Notes:

…so I started this around January 2017…didn’t pick it back up until now. An atmosphere experiment that got Domestic reaaal quick.

I’ve got a lot of WIPS where Allura supports Shiro, so now Shiro needed to support Allura. If I was a TV writer, I’d have a coworker make the b plot horror movie the other characters went through. As it is, I'm just glad it's out of my drafts. 


End file.
